“Firsts” is the theme that guided the State Library of New South Wales‘ curation of their first installment in The Commons on Flickr. Welcome!

Browse some Australian aviation firsts, like this, the first passengers carried in a powered aircraft, at the Ascot Raceway in 1911:

Or, glimpse into the lives of the first Australian Antarctic explorers (a lovely complement to the Arctic imagery in The Commons already):

Meet Dr William Bland. An ex-convict, he was a prominent surgeon, humanitarian, social reformer and inventor. This daguerreotype is the earliest known surviving photograph taken in Australia, taken by the first commercial photographer in the country, George Goodman.

 In another Commons first, there are photos of the R.M.S. Olympic, the “sister ship” of the Titanic and Britannic (source) available from both the Library of Congress and the UK National Maritime Museum. It’s very exciting that brand new “collections” of photos are beginning to come together from the contributions of different institutions!

And, there’s great information being added in the comments:

lawrence_thefourth says:
The date on this photograph – April 10, 1912 – is the date that her sister ship, Titanic left Southampton on her fateful maiden voyage.

swanq says:
See the New York Times archive which says, ‘With more than two thousand passengers on board, of whom more than nine hundred were in the first cabin, the White Star liner Olympic from Southampton arrived late yesterday afternoon. As the Olympic steamed into New York harbor, her sister ship the Titanic started on her maiden voyage from Southampton for this city.’

Among the passengers was the English actor, Sir John Hare.

ZoomNFocus says:
I get the shudders just viewing this at maximum pixel! Small by today’s standards, but only because shipbuilders of 100 years ago tended to employ high length: width ratios(9.0 & higher) vs modern liners which are much wider for the same length.

If Olympic were 102 feet wide instead of 93 and were one deck taller she would’ve held the size record for another 10 years.

Oh! And, since we’re talking about Australia, you might be interested to know that we’ve imported Australian map tiles from the fabulous Open Street Map for Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Canberra. These are in addition to the few updates we made last week for Latin America. Have a look at the new Australian tiles?

The Powerhouse Museum, who joined The Commons back in April this year, has placed about 300 of their photos on the map. Thanks to the updated tiles from OSM, it’s now easier to get a sense of the lay of the land in Sydney’s central business district.

You little ripper! *

Welcome to the fifth installment of 5 Questions. In our last interview, Eric selected Maciej Dakowicz.

With a quick hop and skip, we’ll cross the English Channel to Cardiff in the United Kingdom. (If we were collecting frequent flyer miles, we might have enough for a nice salad bowl, or something.)

What to say about Maciej? Here’s what I learned from his testimonials:

“Mr Dakowicz big up, one of the person which help me to develop new visions on photography. Big thanks to Maciek.” babul.

“Maciej not only shows great photos, he teaches us to see the world differently” ‘stpiduko

“Maciej is the best and the most accomplished photographer I know. It was (and still is) fascinating to observe his development…” Rafal Bergman

1. Maciej, we know it’s a tough question, but if you had to pick just one camera to shoot with from now until the end of time, what would that be?

Maciej: Such camera does not exist, but the closest would be this new model from Canon — the EOS 5D Mark II, but with some modifications. I would drop out the film mode and replace its autofocus system with a professional one and I would spread out the AF points. Now, they’re all concentrated in the middle and it’s really hard to get the focus right when using wide apertures for off-center objects. I also assume that it produces better high ISO photos than the old 5D.

I would also like Canon to make a new 24-70 zoom lens, to add the Image Stabilization mechanism to it and change its zoom mechanism from reverse to a normal one. Somehow I can’t imagine myself shooting at the wide end of the zoom range with the lens fully protruded — it’s huge. For me the lens should slide out when you zoom in, not zoom out. Or it would be best if it did not extend at all when zooming. Anyway, such a modified camera, with a modified 24-70L lens and some wide angle f/1.4 primes would suit me well.

I’ve been using the original 5D for almost 3 years now, it is a great camera producing great photos, but with a rather lousy autofocus system, especially at night. Since I mostly use the wide end of the zoom range, instead of the 24-70L I own the 24-105L lens — it has terrible distortions across the whole range, but at least it relatively small at the 24mm end.

2. A (possibly) tough question… Tell us your favourite photos on Flickr, and why you like them. First, a favourite from your photostream?

Maciej: It is hard to choose one, since I shoot so many different things. My two main interests are photojournalism and street photography. Since I began, I’ve worked on about ten reportages, in the UK and abroad. Some of them, for example, are about street children in Kolkata or the Pakistan earthquake aftermath, were shot for an American humanitarian NEED magazine.

The photo I’ve selected is a mix of street photography and photojournalism. It’s from my ongoing project on the nightlife in Cardiff. I have been working on it occassionally for the last 3 years and have managed to get about 20 decent photos since. This project is basically me shooting strangers on weekend nights in one of the main streets in Cardiff, where many clubs are located. Shooting from a close distance without asking, so I never know what is going to happen when they notice me.

And from another Flickr member?

Maciej: Another almost impossible question! Let it be from Joni Karanka. Joni lives in Cardiff now and is my mate. We often shoot together. Oh well, we used to, since now he has got a girlfriend and apparently he’s got better things to do than shooting strangers at night. Anyway, the thing is that although we shoot together the same things we do it in a completely different way – I shoot digital and colour, he uses those old small crappy film cameras (recently mostly Olympus XA1) with flash in black and white. I usually compose photos and he tries to avoid compositions and all this stuff, for him the more random the better. Joni is also one of the admins of HCSP, which is the best group on Flickr. Sometimes I suggest that he removses some crappy shots from the pool.

And, David Solomons. He’s a London based street photographer, one of the best ones shooting street. I was with him when he shot that photo. In fact it was me who noticed those heads on Oxford street peeking out from behind this wall. I told him “let’s shoot those heads with people passing in front of them, but no people can overlap” — so we were standing on the other side of the street shooting the scene for a couple of minutes. I am not very patient and after about 10 shots I gave up, and in the meantime he got that really neat image. Maybe that’s why he is a member of In-Public, and I am not (this is a very good composition exercise — fit as many people as you can in the frame so no one obscures anyone).

David studied documentary photography in Newport, so he’s been to Cardiff before me. He came here again last year and just a couple of hours after arriving was arrested together with myself and Eamon for shooting children at the Big Weekend Festival. It was hard not to shoot them since there were more children than adults. After being released we went to a pub to discuss the plan for the rest of the day, since going back to the fair was not an option.

3. What’s one tip that you would share with someone who’s just picking up a camera?

Maciej: A difficult question again, and I guess my answer might be a bit chaotic. Before going out make sure you have enough memory cards and spare batteries. Shoot a lot. Shoot in RAW format, not JPG. Don’t delete photos immediately, you might like some of them in a month or year. Blurry photos can be good as well. Shoot with wide angle lenses, get close to people — leave the telephoto lenses for landscape photos. Don’t buy those cool looking old film cameras on eBay as they’re a waste of time and money. I used to do that, once I even bought a mint Leica M6. I sold it a year later after shooting two rolls of film. Shoot with one camera, get to know it well. Don’t change lenses all the time. Don’t buy new lenses all the time, I have maybe 5 lenses but 95% of the time use just two of them — a 24-105mm zoom lens for the day and a bright 35mm f/1.4 for low light situations.

Look at work of other photographers, visit websites of photo agencies and photo collectives, read online photography magazines, and buy photo magazines — British Journal of Photography in the UK is great. Be active on Flickr or another photo sites, write and read comments (those longer than two words). Submit photos to Hardcore Street Photography Group and find out why they have been rejected by participating in one of the discussions there. and buy photography books. You will see why. I have started buying books probably last year, I have around 70 so far. I buy one book per week on average. it is very addictive.

4. When we interview peeps for employment here at Team Flickr, we always ask: “Kittens, babies, sunsets or flowers? Pick one.”

Maciej: Pick one? for what purpose? To photograph it? Babies and kittens look cute on photos, but such photos are usually too boring to look at. Unless it is your baby or kitten – that is what people say. I don’t have neither of those so I don’t know. Flowers? Nah. Sunsets? Nice. I like being outside when they occur. I like the light when the sun comes down, those warm colours, that’s the best time to shoot. Right, so I got it. I choose sunsets. Just for the photo opportunities they provide.

5. Which Flickr member should we ask these 5 questions of next?

Maciej: Let’s have Nygus as the next one. His name is Swiatek Wojtkowiak and he is a young Polish photographer. What a talent. He’s travels all the time and brings wonderful photos from each trip. And he wins photo competitions. We are in the same photo agency, The Wideangle, and he gets all assignments, but I must admit he is more flexible than me, since photography is his only job now. We’ll see next year when I am finally done with my studies.

Heather: Thank you, Maciej. 5 Questions will return with soon when we interview Swiatek Wojtkowiak.

Photos from © Maciej Dakowicz, Mr Karanka, David Solomons, and ۞ NYGUS.

Previously, 5 Questions for Kevin Meredith, Steph Goralnick, Olivia Wright, and Eric Lafforgue.

Photos from faster1974, Mark Berry, and traskblueribbon.
View more photos tagged with luchador or in our luchador clusters.

Photos from piotr m, ramislevy, Mr Moor, elsa11, and Edwin Kerssies.
View more furry photos in the Furry Friday pool.

Olivia selected Eric Lafforgue as our next subject for 5 Questions and so we jump back across the Atlantic to Toulouse, France. (For those keeping score, we’ve traveled 11,817 miles in total.)

“Eric’s photostream is one of the finest and most fascinating on flickr – an intimate view of the world, its cultures, its colors, its people.” Vol de Nuit

“Eric’s work reveals more insight into the cultures of the world in a single series here on Flickr than I’ve gained in a lifetime of reading popular travel magazines.” Kurt Schlatzer

“Eric’s photography is what I would like my photography to be one day. He is nothing but inspiration threw his lens. He shows us the beauty that life has to offer threw the colors and many faces of the world.” robert lio

1. Eric, we know it’s a tough question, but if you had to pick just one camera to shoot with from now until the end of time, what would that be?

Eric: My Hasselblad H3d-39, because I can do everything with it – until I no longer have the strength to carry it into remote locations. I would say my Leica M6, but getting through airport security with film takes hours these days. I’ll keep my digital camera.

2. A (possibly) tough question… Tell us your favourite photos on Flickr, and why you like them. First, a favourite from your photostream?

Eric: I really love this photo, because I knew that before I went to North Korea I wanted to take a photo like this. Sometimes you know before taking a photo what it will be. That’s magic. Once in the DPRK, I had to find a soldier who would accept my request for a photo. It wasn’t easy.

Many Flickr members have asked me if I photoshopped that photo, if it was taken in a studio, etc. I have decided to keep it a secret, but once North Korea opens its doors (though I don’t know when that will be), you can ask the subject. She’s a guide at the War Museum in Pyongyang.

Left: I’ve wanted to go to Papua New Guinea since I was a kid. Thanks to Flickr. I found an editor to make a book of my Papua photos. Right: This photo was taken in a remote area of Yemen. While this girl is veiled, you can see the smile in her eyes. I try my best to make people beautiful.

And from another Flickr member?

Eric: I’ve faved more that 1,300 photos on Flickr. It’s a difficult choice. My favourite photos are ones that I would have loved to have taken.

Left: The is one is perfect – Nathalie has a wonderful eye for China. Right: NYGUS dares to capture photos that the rest of us wouldn’t. He’s got a great point of view on the social environment.

Left: Tatiana is involved in so many things. I would like to have more time to work the same way. Right: I like the way Jason photographs children. I’d like to try shooting in a studio.

3. What’s one tip that you would share with someone who’s just picking up a camera?

Eric: If you shoot digital like I do, work through all the steps: portrait or landscape, the light and post-processing (in Lightroom, for example). These are the three main things that you need to keep in mind when you begin to think about photography seriously.

For portraiture or landscape, it’s your choice. You just need to have some luck or to travel. For the light, it’s up to you to decide how you let it come into the camera. While there are many ways of monitoring the light, I prefer to play with speed. And lastly, post-processing. It’s the birth of the photo. If you follow the 3 steps, you’ll get the best photos you can.

Another tip: take as many photos at you can and keep all of your photographs, even the blurry ones. When you come back in a year or two, you’ll discover new ways to use them.

4. When we interview peeps for employment here at Team Flickr, we always ask: “Kittens, babies, sunsets or flowers?” Pick one.

Eric: I’m sorry, but I’m allergic to cats, I don’t have any babies, my eyes are sensitive to sunlight and flowers make me sneeze! You’ll have to add Dim Sum or Foie Gras to your list to get an answer from me.

5. Which Flickr member should we ask these 5 questions of next?

Heather: A funny thing happened with this interview — Shamir, our French Community Manager, began a similar 5 Question string. His first interview? Eric Lafforgue. In that interview, Eric selected Pierre Beteille to be the next interviewee. To avoid duplication and enable interviews with more members, I asked Eric to select another candidate for this interview.

Eric: Maciej Dakowicz!

Heather: Thank you, Eric. It’s been wonderful to see Flickr and the world through your eyes. 5 Questions will return with soon when we interview Maciej Dakowicz.

Photos from Eric Lafforgue, nataliebehring.com, NYGUS, Tatiana Cardeal, jwlphotography, and © Maciej Dakowicz.

Previously, 5 Questions for Kevin Meredith, Steph Goralnick, and Olivia Wright.

You don’t need to be a surfer to participate in the Rio Surf Pro International 2008!

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil will play host to the first Brazilian stage of WQS worldwide tour between October 6 and 12th. The organizers are building a giant screen at Arpoador beach for the event that will display Flickr surf photos that are contributed to Flickr Surf Brasil.

If you’d like to participate, the full details are available in the group and the group rules.

Photos from localsurfer, lomoD.xx, ∞jAy∞ and Iffa Nasir.

It’s my favourite time of the year again, when the weird, quirky, fun and beautiful take over the tiny red-dot, Singapore, for 3 months. No, Halloween has not arrived early, it’s the Singapore Biennale 08, which happens only once every 2 years.

An arts event where international and local artists gather together to form Wonder(s) — the theme of this year’s exhibitions. Taking place at 6 venues in Singapore across the City Hall and Marina Bay areas, you can explore both indoor and outdoor art with all your senses and imagination. See works by artists like Ilya and Emilia Kabakov, Anthony McCall, Fujiko Nakaya, Hans op de Beeck and many more.

Photos from chooyutshing, Purple_man, - Jiin -, and jlmarts.

A few weeks ago, we launched our first salvo in defense of film photography: The Film Fanciers’ Guild.

In our initial foray, photos shared with the group between 8/12 – 25 were considered for inclusion in the lomowall that our friends at the Lomographic Society International debuted today at Photokina (in Area 5.1 — that’s 5 point 1, so no aliens included, sorry!).

We’re hosting a Flickr Night at the Lomography Analogue Lounge this Saturday. There’s more information about the event at Upcoming.

Today, we’re launching Explore Analog!

It’s a new page on Flickr where we’re beginning to aggregate activity throughout the Flickrverse that has celebrates all things film. You can visit Explore Analog via the drop-down under the Explore menu.

Long live film!

In daily life you experience a lot more than you’d think to take pictures of. Enter the photobike or Flickrbike (no proper name yet, really). The bikes automatically create a photographic map of where they’ve been – no trigger fingers required – and were built by the awesome folks at Uncommon Projects.

The bikes were sent to a few Flickr members in California, New York, Vermont, New Jersey and Brighton, England and can be followed at the Yahoo! site, “Start Wearing Purple”. Needless to say, the novelty of riding your camera around town has caught on – curious stares ensue as the bikes doggedly snap pictures every minute or so and post them to accompanying Flickr accounts.

Stay tuned – we’re hoping to convince the guys at UP to design a DIY system that anyone could use to try photobiking.

Thanks to Jessamyn’s Bike, Gayla’s Bike, Eddie.com’s bike, Amit’s bike, Dogseat’s Bike and Gina’s Bike (aka Carmen) for bringing photobiking to life. A few other bikes are still making their way out into the world!

Jessica Johnston, curator in the George Eastman House photo department, has selected a new round of photographs to share with us in The Commons.

In the 1890’s faster films, better lenses, hand cameras, and the availability of commercial developing and printing services not only made it much easier to make photographs, but to make photographs that captured a wider range of events of everyday life. This fueled a huge explosion in photographic practice; first by significantly expanding the number of amateur photographers and then by irrevocably altering and expanding the nature and practices of professional photography. A greatly expanded world of images—very different in concept and in form—suddenly became an inextricable part of the visual world.

See more in the new William M. Vander Weyde set.